McCarthy & Stone shareholders have voted in favour of a takeover of the retirement housebuilder by private equity firm Lone Star.
The vote on the deal, which took place yesterday, saw almost 80% of votes cast in favour of the takeover after Lone Star increased its offer for the company.
Lone Star had initially agreed a deal to acquire the business for 115p per share, but ahead of the vote said it had increased the bid to 120p per share, valuing the company at £647m.
The company said 79.94% of shareholders have approved the proposal which had been recommended by directors at the company.
Reflecting on the deal when it was announced in October, Paul Lester, chairman of McCarthy & Stone, commented: “We believe that Lone Star would provide a complementary partner for McCarthy & Stone’s stakeholders and along with the investment in the business that Lone Star can provide, will enable further improvements of its transformation strategy and allow McCarthy & Stone to capitalise on its growing rental and multi-tenure offering which would underpin the long-term growth of McCarthy & Stone.”
Comments (1)
I am still amazed that this company, (other retirement home builders are available), has not been outed as being the provider of the most consistently over priced homes in the country, which offer the worst returns from any property investment.
Once purchased, if the extortionate service charges are not too much to bare, then the capital investment return, often left to loved ones, is truly shocking.
In my years as an agent, I have never seen one recoup its purchase price investment made by the previous owner.